- Kingibe said insecurity persists as communities plead for lighting to improve safety.
- The FCT senator insisted Wike lacks understanding of residents’ real needs.
The senator representing the federal capital territory, Ireti Kingibe, has said that the people of Abuja are tired of the minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
Kingibe stated this on Political Paradigm, a Channels Television programme, accusing the minister of being disconnected from the needs of residents.
“Most of Abuja is pitch dark,” she said.
“So I go there, put solar lights in between the places, light up the place so that young people will at least have… you can’t keep them at home, so they’ll at least be safer.
“They will come give me awards, commend me for looking out for them. It’s not that he (Wike) wouldn’t have done it too, except he doesn’t know what they need.”
She disclosed that her office receives letters from different communities complaining about insecurity and the need for basic infrastructure like street lighting.
“I know Karu market is pitch dark. I put lights there. Communities will write to me: ‘There’s so much insecurity around this place. A few lights will make a difference.’ I put it,” she said.
“Solar lights are cheap, but how many can I put? For where I can put one, the minister can put a thousand. Do you see the difference?”
Responding to Wike’s comment that she won’t return to the senate in 2027, Kingibe said she is not desperate to contest again.
“You know, I was not interested in running, you want to bet? I know for certain that when I decide to run, it’s a shoo-in,” she said.
She said the area council elections scheduled for early 2026 would reflect public opinion on Wike’s time in office.
“Local government elections are coming early next year. That is when the people of the FCT show ministers, ‘we like you or we do not like you,’” she said.
“The local government election is going to tell whether Wike controls FCT, because nobody does.”
The lawmaker noted that residents of the capital city are free-minded and have already made up their minds about the minister.
“It’s only people who have lived here for a long time who know that the people of the FCT have their independent mind,” she said.
“And it’s people who live here, you walk on the streets, and you will know that the one thing that unites us all in the FCT is our resentment of the minister.
“It’s not just about development. It’s about treating us with levity, treating us with disregard and contempt.”